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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the art of weighing scales, and more specifically to weighing scales utilized for weighing letters and small packages and determining proper postage therefor.
2. Description of Prior Art
Recently, the use of electronic postage, hereinafter referred to as E-Postage, in offices, homes and other locations, has been increasing. Typically, E-Postage involves the use of a scale, a personal computer (including keyboard and monitor), a computer mouse and mouse pad, and a printer. The scale is used for determining the weight of an item to be mailed or shipped. The computer is utilized for storing, processing and running of software which is designed to apply specific tariff or shipping rate billing data to the weight input from the scale in order to determine proper postage. In some versions of E-Postage, the user must manually enter the weight into the computer. An other versions of E-Postage, the scale is connected directly to the computer and the weight data is automatically captured by the computer.
The computer is typically connected to a printer, which then prints a stamp, or billing authorization, with the proper postage thereon. The stamp is often in the form of a bar code, printed on a label, envelope or directly on the item or parcel to be mailed. The computer may have a modem for connecting to a shipping company""s tariff database, or to the post office tariff database, for downloading of current shipping costs or tariff rates into the computer or for uploading of shipping information to the shipper""s database. In some cases, downloading of shipping information for purposes of tracking progress of items already shipped or mailed is also accomplished by the computer. Increasingly, the computers used in E-Postage frequently utilize the internet for connecting to and uploading and downloading of such data. Yet other forms of E-Postage may utilize regular shipment or exchange of floppy disks, or other electronic media storage devices such as an EPROM, containing updated tariff rates from the shipping company.
The software programs used for E-Postage are often designed with graphical user interface (GUI) features, such as computer mouse activated windows or software buttons. In many cases, a user will desire to utilize the personal computer for uses other than E-Postage, such as word processing, and the user will typically equip the computer with a mouse and mouse pad for use with such other software programs.
With the exception of the scale, many of the equipment items mentioned above are already found on the typical desktop or workstation today. In addition, it is common to find many other items on the desktop or workstation, such as a stapler, staple remover, pencil and pen holder, paperclip holder and other items. For most users, the result of the introduction and use of E-Postage is the addition of a scale to an already overcrowded desktop or workstation, resulting in less work space being available. It also requires to reading of the postage scale and inputting the information into the computer. These steps increases the chance for errors due to the human intervention. The current method is time intensive and has numerous steps which increases the chances for errors to be introduced.
The addition of a scale and the resultant loss of workspace leaves room for improvement within the art.
1. Field of the Invention
U.S. Class 177-45
2. Description of related art including information disclosed under 37 CFR xc2xa71.97** greater than  and 1.98 less than .
An object of the present invention is to provide a means to perform E-Postage which minimizes or reduces the amount of space required on the desktop or workstation for the equipment associated with E-Postage.
The inventor of the present invention has reduced the space required to be taken up on the desktop or workstation by the equipment associated with E-Postage. According to one aspect of the invention, the mouse pad is attached to the weighing platform of the scale. The weight of the mouse pad is subtracted, or xe2x80x9ctared outxe2x80x9d, to set the weight of the weighing platform and mouse pad to zero. When the user desires to utilize the computer mouse, the user uses the mouse with the mouse pad that is attached to the weighing platform. When the user desires to use the scale, the user would remove the mouse from the scale, or alternately leave the mouse on the scale but subtract or xe2x80x9ctare outxe2x80x9d the weight of the mouse, and then weigh the item in question. The scale would then transmit the weight signal to the computer, or to an equivalent input/output data processing device, through a communication means, such as a serial, USB (universal serial bus) or parallel cable. The communication means can also be used to provide power to the scale electronics and associated circuitry. Alternatively, the user can manually enter the weight of the item into the computer.
In yet another aspect of the invention, the scale may be provided with an integrated ergonomically designed wrist-rest. A wrist-rest pad would be attached to the weighing platform and positioned at the same height as the mouse pad relative to the weighing platform. The wrist-rest pad would allow the user to properly align the user""s arm and hand for use of the mouse to reduce the likelihood of injury from repetitive motion in using the mouse.
In yet another aspect of the invention, the wrist-rest may be detachable from the scale.
By providing a scale with a mouse pad attached to the weighing platform, the inventor has reduced the space, or footprint, required on the desktop or workstation for the equipment required to perform E-Postage, thus solving, or at least reducing, the problems hereinbefore explained.